Trade Mistakes
by Lucifer Loves You Not
Summary: Castiel is Sam's new roommate and just trying to go to school and become... something. Doesn't even matter what. Dean works at Bobby's garage and just wants to prove to the world that he can survive just fine on his own. Through a strange meeting involving first impression of angel thrust into world full of porn and booze, these two become close. But we all have our issues. Destiel
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! I have a beta for this one! So yeah... kill me now. I have a Sabriel, Samifer, Bufus, Wincest, and now Destiel chapter fics going... all ongoing and not going to end anytime soon. I'm a masochist in case you didn't know! But I think my best friend will make sure I update this one quickly since she likes the pairing (but she's on season 1...) and I think she likes the fic. I think...**

**1**

College was never Dean's thing; it was always something that Sam would do while Dean just worked his ass off at Bobby's garage trying to make ends meet. He's okay with that though, this is the kind of life he deserves and that's just fine. Sammy is having a great time and showing off his smarts while Dean is proving to the world that he can do just fine on his own. It's all around a good thing. Sammy is making his dreams come true and Dean is letting himself move on. John has been gone for two years now; it's time he's moved on.

Taking a deep breath, Dean called up his brother. They call each other every week to make sure things are still going good. Dean would call every single day but Sam has homework and projects and it would probably annoy the hell out of him after a while which could put a strain on their relationship. Dean's already lost John; he doesn't want to lose Sammy too.

"Yeah," Sam said as soon as he picked up. Dean smiled and leaned against the Impala, one hand in his jeans while the other gripped the phone tightly to his ear.

"Hey Sammy boy, what's going on?"

"Nothing much, just working on a Street Law project and looking over my roommates notes for Calculus. How's the garage?"

"It's fine. So you got hooked up with a smart roommate this time, someone who doesn't try to rape you in your sleep or someone like Gabriel who hoards candy like gold, and sometimes even hides it in your underwear drawer?" Dean asked with a smirk, although the rape incident… well he's just grateful Sammy called him up. The douchebag was obviously unbalanced anyway. What kind of a guy changes his name from Nick to Lucifer? So this is actually a bit of a relief.

"Yeah, Castiel's great! He looks a little spaced out and can be pretty intense but he's _smart_." That's the best way to get on Sam's good side, as long as you're a freaking genius then he'll like you, he's not picky _at all_. Well… considering the fact that he likes Dean, yeah he's not actually all that picky.

"I'm done for the day so do you want me to come over and meet him? That way you can get a second opinion?" This isn't all that unusual with them. Whenever Dean or Sam start to really like a person, they always invite the other over to check the person out. This has helped out Sam more than Dean. Sam's had Lucifer, Becky, and Ruby… three stalkers in the making who all wanted to get in his pants, some more forcefully than others. Dean just had Gordon, but considering how the guy believed Vampires exist and wanted to hunt them down with Dean… and then got caught by the police after chopping off three innocent people's heads… Sam was right on that one. So it's arguable that Sam is needed more for Dean on the whole, 'checking out the new friends' so to speak.

"Yeah, it sounds good; you can come over whenever you're ready. I don't have any more classes today and I've been meaning to let off some steam anyway." That's code for, after you meet the roommate, we should hit the gym and beat the shit out of each other like old times.

"I'll head out now. So I'll see you in thirty."

"Yeah… see you."

Hanging up the phone, Dean made sure he didn't forget the cooler of beer then hopped in the car and drove. He should be heading back to his rundown apartment anyway so Bobby probably won't think anything of this. He gets paid a decent amount, enough to keep living, but he doesn't have enough to really bring anything more to his brother than a pack of beer. He can't help Sammy pay for college and even though he tried to get another job and help Sam pay for the room and board along with books, Sam got really mad when he found out. Dean and Sam had a yelling match for almost a full hour until finally Dean relented and stopped looking for a second job.

But he has enough for beer and even though this will be all the beer he can afford for a few weeks, he'll gladly take them over to Sam and pretend like everything's fine, and that his big brother isn't struggling like hell to make ends meet. Sam will just compare it to when they were kids. Sometimes Dean couldn't eat because otherwise Sam would go hungry; it's not that big of a deal.

Black Sabbath played nice and loud over the speakers as Dean drove into town. Since this is Stanford, there are three bars in town and two strip clubs, and four regular clubs. Of course all Sam cares about are the twelve different libraries. The kid needs to learn how to lighten up but if Castiel turns out to be a lot like Sam… then Dean will have to come over more to show these kids how college is _supposed _to be according to all the movies he loves. They should be out partying, enjoying their lives, and hanging out with girls! Well… Sam has been eying this girl named Jessica for a little over a month now. Maybe Dean will do the big brother thing and check her out to see if she's worth it, because Sam doesn't just have sex with a girl. He has to add some commitment on top of that and wants a legitimate relationship. Odds are, this girl isn't looking for that. Dean hasn't met many who fit Sam's old fashioned type, but she could be different.

When he parked the car by the dorms, he noticed Gabriel hanging out in front of the dorms with a lollipop in his mouth and a notebook in his hand, he looked up at the dorms for a moment then began pacing which is just annoying as fuck since Dean needs to get passed him. "Move aside," He commanded making Gabriel look up with wide eyes. Dean isn't exactly average height, anything above six feet isn't really all that average anymore, but Gabriel is and with Dean having practically a head on him, it was amusing to watch him glare and cross his arms as if that's really going to intimidate Dean. After a few seconds of staring each other down, he pulled the bright pink sucker out of his mouth.

"You're Sam's older brother, right?" Gabriel asked, his eyes still narrowed as he twirled the lollipop in his fingers. Dean just nodded. Gabriel wasn't on the dangerous list. Sure he has an unhealthy addiction to candy but Sam just transferred out of his room because the kid's annoying and used to play pranks on him daily. Only when it got in the way of Sam's grades, he finally requested the transfer, and so naturally the school would accommodate one of their favorite students. Sam's not a douche bag who'd just ditch the first sign of a hassle, and he really did tell Gabriel to stop. "Here are the notes he missed for the government course he's taking." As soon as Dean had a grip on the notebook, Gabriel was gone, walking swiftly in the opposite direction with his sucker in his mouth and his hands stuffed into his pockets. Dean just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the dorm house. He's seen weirder and doesn't really care about someone trying to get back into Sam's good graces, it's a good thing, but Sam missing a class isn't really like him… so maybe Dean should ask his brother what's going on before he comes up with any weird ideas.

After checking in at the visitor's center, Dean hurried over to Sam's room. Every time he lingers in this place people try to talk to him… it's annoying. Half of the people who talk to him think he's a student, and the other half think he has a boyfriend here, but that's mostly Becky, Chuck, and Charlie. Those three can almost always be found in either the library or somewhere near Sam. Dean really needs to have a talk with his brother about finding cooler friends, although all of them would fight him on that, especially Charlie but she's dubbed this week Harry Potter week. Sam has sent Dean pictures of her wearing the Harry Potter uniform… she's a freak, they're all freaks, but Sam refuses to ditch them.

By the time he got to room 77A, Dean has already decided he will be staging an intervention if Castiel is anything like Sam's other friends. He will quite forcefully drag them to a strip club and force them to relax and have fun. But when he opened the door he was standing face in face with a very confused looking man. He's slightly shorter than Dean but he has these freaky blue eyes, like he's trying to see into your soul so he can silently assess what's there before judging you for everything you're worth. He has average black hair, but with his baby face he looks like an incredibly innocent angel thrust down into a world full of porn and booze. So naturally, Dean smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Dean Winchester, Sam's older brother. Who are you?"

"I'm Castiel Novak, your brother's roommate." His voice is gruff and he sounds a bit pained but this didn't deter Dean in the slightest as he looked at Castiel's side of the room. It's bare, just his bed, desk, and dresser. It's as though Castiel is doing his very best to hide every speck of himself from the room but the one thing that stood out is that his sheets are light blue and his pillows on the bedspread make it kind of look like the sky with a couple clouds. It's kind of cool, but then again an angel being thrust into a world full of porn and booze? Definitely the best first impression Dean's ever gotten from anyone. "Sam will be here soon, he went out to get pie, he said this is a very important task and that he can't entrust it to me because of your wrath were I to get the order wrong."

Castiel looked so serious as he stared at Dean with these furrowed eyebrows that he couldn't help but double over laughing, unable to believe that this is seriously the guy he's been stressing over for the past half hour. Yeah, he's fine; the guy has obviously never hurt a fly and seems more confused about humanity than Sam is on his worst day. "It's a joke; he probably just didn't want to see my first impression of you or wanted to make this meeting better with pie." Dean grinned and then collapsed on Sammy's bed. The guy has army green sheets and posters of black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin only because Dean forced him to hang them up. He wouldn't be all that surprised if Sam only has them up when he knows his brother is coming to visit.

"Do you judge your brother's roommates harshly? Is that why he went out to get the pie?" Castiel is such a freak but Dean likes that about him already. It's like he's constantly trying to understand the world around him but has such an honest way of doing it. If anything, Sam would be the one to look out for in their dorm setting.

"Nah, what I think about Sam's bunk buddies turn out to be right more times than not. He's had some really fucked up ones." Dean explained with a shrug then his eyes widened in shock. Shit! He just cussed in front of this guy! But Castiel didn't seem to notice as he pondered this. So Dean's been sitting on Sam's bed for a while now but Cas looks comfortable just standing there patiently waiting for Sam. Yep, this guy he can keep but he's definitely a freak. He might need to rethink the strip club so that he doesn't completely ruin this guy's innocence.

He kind of wanted Sammy to take a while with the pie.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I've been updating a chapter a day for my fics. So every single day I update something... yay. Except it's hard as all hell and that's why instead of going to bed I was writing the last four hundred words for this fic. Well, I hope somebody likes it.**

**2**

Sitting on Sam's bed and trying to have a conversation with Cas is probably one of the most awkward things a person can do. He doesn't _talk_. Staring a conversation might as well be impossible for him and he has this thing where he _stares_ like he thinks Dean is the most interesting thing in the entire world. Ah porn… something about this guy makes him think of porn and it's going to get even more uncomfortable in a second if he can't figure out something to say. That's when he buried his face in his hands. Seriously? The guy is going to college, there's something right there.

"So uh… Cas, what are you majoring in? What are you in school for?" Dean asked and looked up at the man as his eyebrows pinched together in concern. Maybe that's just what his face does when he's thinking.

"I'm not sure."

He didn't elaborate and there was nothing for Dean to really say so instead he just looked at Castiel who was concentrating on the floor. The guy either looks at someone with the most intense expression in the world, or he avoids all eye contact like the plague. Socially awkward doesn't cover half of it. But he's… hot. So that makes things a little different. Luckily Sam walked in before Dean had to think of anything else to say. He looked a bit tired as he lugged in a box of pie and a large brown paper bag. "Brought apple pie for you and dinner for me and Cas, but seriously Dean, you can't have any of this stuff. We haven't eaten yet and I need to hurry up because we have to get to the gym in thirty minutes." Sam said as a greeting. So apparently Sam's had a really rough day. Next to his head was the notebook Gabriel had handed off to him. Sometimes Dean takes or grabs something then doesn't even realize he has it until someone needs it or he bumps into it.

"Hey Sam, Gabriel wanted me to give this to you. Apparently it has some notes or other in it since you didn't go to class." Dean gave Sam a look making his brother take it but he now knows they're going to talk about it later.

Sam and Castiel sat down on the ground and started passing out plates, utensils, and napkins from within the bag. He brought tacos… no wonder Sam was very adamant about telling his brother he can't have any. Dean loves tacos. Sam is a bitch for not getting him any. Then again he brought the pie… conflicted… but apparently Sam knows exactly what to say to his roommate. They talked about Star Wars and Star Trek because they're both freaks and apparently like both of them while most people seem to only obsess over one. Dean has slept with a lot of Star Trek girls, because almost every girl he's met that likes that show thinks they're something special because she just so happens to be hot and a sci-fi fan. Dean let each of them think that as he banged them into the bed, couch, or van. And yes, he was imagining Castiel dressed up as Spock ready to get seduced by Dean. And no, Dean isn't a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars; he's more of a Fight Club kind of person or any movie with Molly Ringwald because girls just eat that shit up. Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and the Breakfast Club is pretty much porn for girls. Dean will admit he likes those chick flicks much better than the newer ones, he only knows his preferences in the matter because Sam is an idiot who has the worst taste in everything.

After a while, Cas seemed to have gotten comfortable, he even had his leg pressed against Sam's which was slightly annoying to Dean but if his brother and Cas are an item then Dean will back off. Sam deserves everything so he won't fight him on it. "Dean, which school do you go to?" Castiel asked making Sam frown as Dean glanced over at the two of them warily. This is the problem with college kids; they tend to think that all other adults around their age are going to college too.

"College isn't really my thing, didn't have the grades for it, and definitely don't have the smarts for it." Sam is always telling Dean that this is a lie but it's easier if he claims it then tries to think about his potential. John used to tell Dean that he's a smart kid but since it's John… well Dean and Sam try to forget they even have a father most times. Bobby doesn't question him though so that's good.

"Why did you not make the appropriate grades?" Castiel continued, looking hesitant as though he'll bring up the wrong thing once again.

"I didn't go to school much." Dean said with narrowed eyes, not liking this conversation at all. Apparently Castiel is really starting to realize that because he's beginning to look flustered. Sam rolled his eyes then leaned forward and whispered something into the kid's ear making his blue eyes widen before he turned to Dean and sat up straighter.

"Where do you work?" Sam is smart, that should be a much safer conversation topic. Dean grinned at him to show Cas that he did fine this time.

"I work at an auto shop, so basically I'm a mechanic. If you're ever having car trouble don't hesitate to talk to me and I'll probably be able to fix it for a quarter of the price most places charge you." He beamed, because yeah, he does offer to help people with their cars all the time. Not that many people use and abuse it but some people do and it honestly makes him happy.

"That makes sense. People unable to go to college can still be productive members of society by doing menial jobs that can still help our society as a whole." Castiel nodded with a soft smile as though he just understood some great secret of the universe. Dean almost punched him in the face. Before he could do anything drastic like _punch this bastard in the face_, Sam grabbed hold of his arm and glanced over at Castiel warily, as though he's used to this but keeps expecting his roommate to suddenly stop making such douchebag comments.

"You son of a bitch…" Dean ground out even though he was already holding himself back, the last thing he needs is to get permanently banned from his brother's dorm.

"I do not understand…" Castiel started but Sam just held up a hand and closed his eyes, obviously counting softly to himself. When he opened his eyes he turned to his roommate with a tired sigh.

"You basically just told my brother, 'you're an idiot but that's okay the world needs idiots.' Do you see how that's wrong? If not then I'll explain it in more detail later, okay?" Sam said with a shake of his head, his hand still gripping Dean's arm tightly, so tightly that it was starting to go numb and he knew it would bruise. But right now he really wants to drag his brother out of the room and just fight for the hell of fighting, but then again right now he'd much rather be shoving his fist into Cas's pretty face.

Castiel still looked confused but turned to Dean almost instantly. "I am very sorry for the misconception. I did not mean to insult you or your career choice." Dean accepted the apology and after a couple minutes of awkward silence, Castiel stood up and walked over to the mini fridge and grabbed some bright yellow drink with Asian scrawl on it.

"Oh hey, man, I brought beer." Dean said instantly but Castiel just shook his head, giving him this weird look.

"Beer toys with the brain and dilutes its function once enough is consumed. I would much rather function properly then suffer with the inability to think properly or react well in any situation that may or may not occur." He responded leaving Dean to glance over at Sam who was already shaking his head.

"Cas, we talked about this. Remember how I told you that your empathy level is a solid three out of ten? I drop the number down to one. Go study the human interaction book I got you." Sam said with a sigh and watched his roommate pause before walking over to a bookshelf next to the door, Dean hadn't seen it when he came in but it's full of human studies and books about how the body works. It's really weird but from what he's seen of Castiel, the guy really needs this stuff.

"So I get to kick your ass now?" Dean asked, ignoring Castiel for the moment. Sure the guy's hot but… if he'd stay quiet he'd be hotter.

"Yeah right," Sam grinned and raced out the door. Dean paused and glanced back at Castiel. He's sitting on the ground with his Asian drink looking at them like he's a little kid who everyone forgot at Christmas.

"Um… my brother and I are going to brawl a bit at the gym… do you want to come?" Dean asked softly, not sure why he's being so nice to the guy who insulted him ten ways till Sunday but he's doing it anyway. Sometimes Dean's just an idiot.

Castiel blinked but then shook his head slowly. "No… I should stay here and catch up with my studying. You and Sam should go have fun together. He really seems to miss you." Something about the way he said that sounded so unbearably sad but Castiel's expression is blank, like a plastic mask of what a human face should look like but someone had done it terribly wrong. There's no expression whatsoever. It's just… a face.

"Alright then… you can't say I didn't try." He smiled, teasing but before he left he looked Castiel over. "It was good meeting you. I really hope you pan out with him. So far you seem like a great guy even with all the insults." He laughed and it seemed to make him soften up, which is good. That blank expression was seriously starting to freak him out. Dean doesn't know how to handle that stuff. It's just weird. People need to be people and if that means throwing a few fists and screaming at the top of their lungs then so be it. As long as they act human then it's fine.

Dean left and ran to catch up with his brother who was waiting by the Impala when he got outside. He didn't mention Dean making him wait, probably already knows exactly what happened back there too. But that really doesn't matter because they're about to fight for the first time in months. Sometimes boys need to let themselves loose and since Sam and Dean were trained as kids, one of the few things they both agree were good for them, it's become a sort of stress relief.

"I really like Castiel, he's a great guy and I think he'll be a pretty damn good roommate." Sam smiled, seemingly confident although Dean could see that slight tenseness around the eyes. He's waiting, because he thinks Dean will have found something he didn't. He's waiting for something to be wrong with Cas since he likes him.

Sam can be so sad sometimes…

"I like him too. I think he could be good for you." He felt like he was giving Sam permission to screw the guy or something but Sam seemed to get it. He always gets it.

"I missed that government class, showing Castiel around campus. He's a transfer student. He was so worried about causing me trouble I had to lie to him about missing a class just to show him around." Sam explained making Dean smile. Good, there's nothing for him to worry about.

He had no way of knowing how wrong that thought was.


	3. Chapter 3

**We can only thank the laundry mat for me getting this chapter done...**

**3**

Dean has only _just _finished all the cars he had in the garage when another one pulled up. It's an old car, and covered in rust… it actually took Dean a moment to realize that it's a VW Golf. He doesn't get these cars too often, especially a caddy pick-up covered in rust with spots of light blue paint. But hey, whatever, he'll get paid to fix up this bucket of rust and then he can wash out his eyes with soap. That's usually how this works.

Well... that is... until Castiel, Sam's new roommate, stepped out of the car and began to look around as if expecting something.

First of all... there is _nothing_ worth expecting here. It's a dump that's surrounded by lemons, no real waiting area, and an entrance that's covered in gravel, rocks, and car parts. Things no one wants to deal with let alone drive through. Whenever Dean cleans it all up, some piece of shit car comes along and ruins it all over for him again. So he screws around with the entrance about once a month. But most times he just doesn't give a fuck. But... today he does. Because today is the day _Castiel_ decided to show up.

"Hello Dean. I've come here because my car is in need of repairs." Castiel informed him gravely, as if someone had just died. Dean stared at him, waiting for Castiel to go into detail. Apparently he noticed because after a moment he sighed. "I'm afraid it's broken... I don't know how to fix it." He continued but _again_ didn't go into details. So... apparently Dean has to figure it out on his own. Just great. He's not really in the mood to fuck around in another man's car without knowing if it's going to blow up in his face.

"What the hell is wrong with it?" Okay... that might have come out a little harsh, but... Dean was _not_ expecting this. He was just going to come into work, do his thing for ten hours or so, run off to another job, and try to keep from calling Sam just to make sure his brother is okay. But... apparently today is going to be... complicated.

"There is a clinking noise. I think it's the radio." Castiel nodded and then handed over his keys. He looked around the garage oddly, as if searching for something. Oh great... he's thinking this place has got to be fancy enough to have a waiting room or some place with air conditioning... well. They don't have much money and the house Bobby lives in is off limits, no strangers allowed... so it looks like Cas will just have to deal with Dean's company or go away.

"We don't have a waiting room or anything like it. You can hang out here or explore, I'm going to check out what's wrong with your piece of shit car." Dean said with a sigh and hopped into the car, not even bothering to see Castiel's reaction to his insult. He makes fun of people's cars... sometimes he's a little harsh. But right now he really doesn't give a damn. He's running on four hours of sleep and he still has another job to do after this at the bar. Right when he turned on the car, Dean looked up and was... surprised. Castiel's still here, watching him curiously. Okay... maybe this won't be so boring. A little creepy, sure, but creepy is fine.

He once dated creepy. She tried to blow up his car. That's when he finally got the restraining order and actually wound up getting her arrested which is probably for the best according to Sam. If she didn't get arrested then she would be dead right now. Dean really did track her every movement for three weeks trying to figure out the best way to kill her. Sam was worried about Dean's sanity but... you don't mess with a man's _fucking_ car! It's a _rule_.

When the car turned on he blinked in surprise. It's not the radio. It's the air conditioning. The only thing that's really /wrong/ with this car is the fact that some idiotic shoved some legos into the vents. Dean did that too when he was a kid. He's never bothered to take the legos out even now. It wouldn't take long to get the legos out and the fee... "Hey Cas, want to know what's wrong with your baby?" Dean asked with a soft smile as he motioned 'socially awkward' over to him. Blue eyes pierced him but Dean ignored the intensity and just motioned him over with a big grin on his face.

"I would ask about why you call a car 'baby' but I'm afraid of the answer." Castiel informed him suspiciously but that feather ruffled look is good on him. "What happened to... the _car_?" He seemed to put emphasis on the fact that it's a 'car' not a 'baby' but Dean could care less.

"If my car became human, we would get hitched, immediately. Anyhow, your 'car' is only rattling because someone shoved legos into the vents. If you want I can check out the entire car to see if anything else is wrong with it. I can also remove the legos... just let me know what you wanna do, man." Dean said easily as he rubbed his hands together and stared at the guy. Castiel stared at the car with a look of deep contemplation, which probably means he has no idea what the hell he's doing to begin with. Actually, it's really weird that Cas would even come here in the first place. This garage is seriously out of his way. It's an hour trip here and back. What the hell was Cas thinking? And how does he know where this place is anyway?

"You are very disturbed... I suggest you look into possible trained professionals who know how to deal with this. I don't care what you do with the car. Look it over, take the legos out, or don't do either. I honestly don't even know why I'm here." Castiel informed him but his eyes weren't meeting Dean's. In fact, it's like he's looking anywhere _but_ at Dean. So he's lying, embarrassed about lying, and doesn't know what to do. Dean's handled this before with girls on a first date so he can handle it now.

"I'm not getting a psychologist because I love my car. If you're going to be an ass then go be an ass over _there_ while I fix your vents and figure out if there's anything else wrong with your baby." Dean smiled cheekily from the driver's seat. Castiel stared at him for a long time then finally turned around and left, but Dean could see a redness to his ears. Dean smirked then grabbed his tools that are currently on top of an abandoned SUV. Sometimes guys come here asking for him to fix their cars but then they never come back. After a year he uses the cars for parts. It's not really legal, but it helps, especially when a family comes in and obvious can't afford a single thing they need. It's nice to be able to help out.

After about forty minutes, the car's good to go. He changed out the oil and added air to the tires, he would have done more but Dean had to do all of this while Cas wasn't looking which is hard as hell because he'll randomly appear and disappear at the blink of an eye. Sometimes he'll stand right up on Dean's ass, watching him check everything over. Other times... he'll just be gone. Dean definitely pities the kid's relatives. He's a freak. But then again Dean kind of likes freaks, there tends to be something... cool about these guys. In his experience, freaks always have something kind of cool in those crazy heads of theirs. He likes to discover it, especially if no one else seems to give them a chance. It's kind of stupid though, and Sam... he calls it Dean's hero complex.

"Your car is good to go." Dean grinned just as Castiel rounded the corner again.

"How much do I owe you?" The words are abrupt, and cold, but Dean just shrugged his shoulders with a sly smile.

"No payment, just hang out with me sometime, Sam can even be there if you want. You just let me look over your _car_. That's a pretty big deal. Even if you don't care, it's still... let's hang out. Anytime, anywhere, I don't really care. Let's just get to know each other." Dean said easily, but it's not easy. Sure, Castiel is hot as fuck, but he's also obviously not the happy with Dean... ever. But he showed up. And he hasn't really insulted Dean today... so... it's worth a shot.

"I'll call you." Castiel promised with a nod then took the keys. Dean stepped out of the car and glanced at the collection of cds in the backseat. He really should have looked them over to see what he's getting himself into with this guy… but he didn't. Castiel drove away just when Dean realized that he didn't give the freak his number. It doesn't really matter though because he can get it from Sam.

The idea of his brother going between Cas and Dean to find out things about the other is hilarious, but also a bit pathetic. Then again, Dean had to do this once because Sam had a thing for this chick named Bela. Too bad for both of them, she turned out to be insane and was killed by someone who discovered she killed her parents. It was a weird turn of events that the brothers have agreed never to discuss. It would just drive them both insane.

After that Dean headed out to his next job and ignored the weird stares he kept getting. There's no crime in being happy! He lives his entire life as a happy camper who got a hold of the good stuff from Jimmy's cabin. He's not like Sam where there's no happiness in the world, only studying and school. Then again, Sammy is apparently very close to hooking up with Jess. Dean approves, he _really_ approves. The chick is out of his league but Sam seems to be bagging her anyway.

That's good… because when they were in high school, Sam couldn't get any girls to notice him. He was this awkward thing made up of freaky limbs and is _way_ too tall. The fact that his body finally caught up with him in college which made him hot… is a fact that those girls will be crying about until the day they die. Dean can admit his brother's hot but only because he also knows exactly how disfigured and disgusting he can be. So he smiles at these girls, enjoys watching them fawn over his brother, all the while knowing that they would be _disgusted_ if they saw Sam for what he really is.

Sam's still that same kid they went to high school with.

He's an awkward mess but hey, he's all Dean has ever really had. So he doesn't criticize too much. It's probably good that Sam and Cas are together, they can be awkward balls of hotness together. Dean doesn't mind hanging out with another freak and Castiel sure doesn't seem to mind when that stick up his ass is outta the way. Dean winked a couple girls at the bar and then carried the empty drinks to the kitchen. And he can be as happy and flirtatious as he wants because that's the way he is. It has _nothing_ to do with Castiel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Arkansas, the best place for me to just sit down and write. Apparently.**

**4**

"Dean… if you're going to keep making moon eyes at that newspaper article, I am going to take it away from you and burn it." Sam threatened darkly from the kitchen as he grabbed a beer. Thanksgiving holidays are terrible because everyone is stuck going to Bobby's place for four days and try to have a decent thanksgiving dinner while trying to pretend like everyone always hangs out with each other twenty-four hours a day, every day. Needless to say, thank God Jody Mills can make a decent pie. She made four to last the entire visit from everyone. Ellen and Jo show up each year but only come by to visit each day, they aren't forced to live inside the old man's place. They should be fucking _grateful_ for that.

Bobby's been forcing both Sam and Dean to work all the time, doesn't matter on what, he'll find them something to work on if they finish everything else early. Jody doesn't say anything but Dean's pretty damn sure she knows why Bobby's in a 'gotta fix everything up' mood. She isn't saying much but apparently it's something that he started doing recently, something normal. Dean doesn't care enough to ask about it and Sam seems to be pretty tight lipped lately too. Usually he pulls Dean aside and talks to him about anything weird that happens. He always wants to talk about it.

"I have some apple pie in the kitchen if you boys are hungry." Jody called with a grin as Sam and Dean hesitated over the garage. Today Bobby didn't bother to hold back his punches, they were told to clean out the garage. As far as cruel and unusual punishments go, this is pretty bad, but Jody isn't sticking her neck out for them so either they deserve it or Bobby really does need them to go around the house fixing and cleaning things up.

"I heard pie." Dean said with a grin lifting up his hands in a show of 'I'm not doing anything else till I get me some pie.'

"I heard the implied 'break.'" Sam groaned and stretched his arms before following his big brother into the kitchen through the back door. Sure enough the pie is nice and hot and ready to be eaten. "So tomorrow's thanksgiving and I was wondering if I could bring someone," Sam started, immediately getting both Dean and Jody's attention. Dean didn't stop cutting himself a slice but he stared at Sam the whole time with a slow smile and a suggestive eyebrow raise.

"Who is she?" Jody asked, smiling as she cut herself and Sam a slice, purposely cutting Dean's slice in half and giving Sam the other slice while she gets the biggest. A fourth slice was made too for Bobby but he's not in the kitchen and odds are he doesn't know the pie was made… which means that Dean might be able to get away with eating it.

"It's not a girl. It's my roommate, Castiel. He doesn't have anywhere to go for the holidays and said he'd be glad to show up if you guys said he can come." Sam's using the puppy eyes. He doesn't _need_ to use the puppy eyes but he's using it anyway. It's like he gets some sort of weird kick from making everyone around him bend to his will whenever he pulls the 'kicked puppy' look.

"Oh sure, what'd you think? We'd turn him away?" Jody grinned, showing a flash of teeth before wrapping up Bobby's piece in plastic and casting a suspicious look at Dean. Jody and Bobby have been dating for two years now. There's no reason for them not to get hitched but Bobby's holding out on her, something about not feeling good enough or not having enough money. Maybe it's something else.

"Yeah, Cas is cool, of course he can come." Dean nodded but his smile was forced. If Castiel comes then he'll be close to Dean which means that Dean will get to know this hot piece of awkward ass. Castiel will make things difficult… and Jo will figure it out pretty quickly and odds are Sam will start to figure it out too and… and Dean doesn't want that. He doesn't want everyone to know Dean might have a slight crush on Sam's new roommate.

"What this about somebody coming over for thanksgiving?" Bobby asked, walking in through a side door. The kitchen has practically ten doors leading into it, well more like four, but it's still a ton of doors to get into one tiny room.

"It's my roommate, Castiel. He doesn't have anywhere to go and I thought I'd invite him over. Is that alright with you, Bobby?" Sam asked putting the 'puppy look' to full power, Bobby doesn't stand a chance. Sure enough he nodded, even enthusiastically to Sam's request.

"Sure, Castiel can come by; I don't see a problem with it. Oh thanks." Bobby smiled as he took the pie from Jody and grabbed a fork so he could stab it into the pie and take heaping bites.

"That's great! I'll call him and let him know, do you mind if he comes by tonight and sticks around until vacation's over?" He didn't use the puppy eyes but Bobby and Jody were already nodding. Apparently they like making Dean's life miserable by inviting his… _crush_ here to stay for a couple days. He'll only be here for two nights but that's plenty of time for Dean to screw his life completely with embarrassing blackmail.

Dean finished his pie then went out to the garage to keep cleaning, odds are, the princess will take a while to get things ready for Castiel so Dean will be able to blast his music until Sammy gets his ass out here and finally starts helping out. It's not fair to be ticked off at Sam about the cleaning but… Dean's stuck. There's no way out and it'd be easy as fuck to blame Sammy.

He turned on his Metallica CD and started to lose himself in the music as he worked on the floor first. When he was just a kid, he learned pretty quickly that if you clean the big things first, it makes everyone think you did a lot more than you did so you probably won't have to do the harder stuff that's more real cleaning. So Dean swept the ground, got rid of three dead animals, all of which are mysteries. They could be dead skunk, squirrel, or dog. It's too hard to tell.

"I know I haven't been here for long but… you're easy to read." Jody smiled from the doorway, she's doing the mom smile, which is probably something she learned when she still had her husband and kid. They died in a hold up at a bank a few years ago. Jody was sheriff and couldn't do a thing, the state troopers took over because her husband and kid were inside, and they didn't think she could think clearly enough to handle the situation. Everyone inside died including the robbers. It was cruel, and horrifying, but Jody picked herself up, became a better sheriff and started hanging around Bobby. For the most part it was because her car was a piece of shit, but then it grew into something more… mushy. Dean respects her though, and so does Bobby. She's a good woman, a great catch, and very rarely lets herself fall apart.

"What are you talking about, Jody?" Dean asked with his 'I didn't do anything and you can't prove a damn thing' smile as he turned down the music and faced her. She didn't look impressed.

"What's up with you and Castiel? Do you two have some kind of history or something?" She asked, her cop eyes showing. He didn't say anything but soon enough she started to smirk. "So you _want_ there to be history. I just didn't know you swung that way."

"I don't! It just… I don't understand." Dean cried making her eyes widen before walking forward and placing a hand on his cheek.

"No one cares, Dean. You can like a guy, it doesn't matter. We've still got Sam to give me grandkids but I don't mind adopted ones either. So should I teach you how to cook like a proper housewife? Do I need to give this boy the talk?" She asked seriously but her eyes are laughing at him.

"Fuck off, Jody." Dean laughed but was immediately smacked upside the head with her hand.

"Don't say f-word around me, or you will be humiliated beyond hope of ever being with this boy. I'm assuming he doesn't know? That's probably good. You'd just fuck it up anyway with the way you usually confess to people." She murmured, using the word 'fuck' as though it's second nature to her, not even seeming to notice. Dean glared, but she didn't seem to notice. "Sam's going to figure it out pretty quickly, Jo too maybe. Ellen probably already knows somehow, she's insane. I keep telling Bobby that she has a slight thing for him but he doesn't notice and doesn't seem to care. I don't see her as competition… is that a bad thing? Should I see her as competition?"

"No, Jody. You're the best he'll ever have. Besides, I think Jo is trying to convince Ellen to bring someone this year." He's not lying, Jo mentioned it yesterday, but Dean didn't really care so he wasn't paying much attention. "The guy's name starts with a P or something. I don't know… but it sounds like you don't have to worry." Dean shrugged.

"You don't have to worry either." Jody nodded and turned away, leaving Dean even more frightened then before. Jody is going to do something _weird_ and _motherly_ and it's going to fuck everything up! But no matter how humiliating it'll be… Dean knows he's going to love every minute of it. When he was just a kid, his mom died, leaving him with a brokenhearted father and a baby brother. People tried to help, got close to helping, but in the end… John couldn't handle it and Bobby took over.

He watched Jody leave then sighed and turned on Asia, he needs something a bit more upbeat anyway. He started humming along to 'Heat of the Moment' and sweeping the dirt out of the garage while making it into a guitar, but just when he was started to find his rhythm he turned and saw Castiel staring at him from the door leading into the kitchen, Castiel was half inside and half out, his eyes wide, obviously not sure what to do.

"Hey Cas!" Dean grinned, which is apparently the worst thing he could have ever done because of course Castiel turns around and hurries inside without a word. Dean didn't let it get him down for long and continued the song, dancing and singing until it finished and then it was Eye of the Tiger which is even better. It took a while, but by the time Sam came out, the floor was looking pretty damn spotless and all the tools were put away where they go.

"You… actually did something." Sam said slowly, his eyes wide with shock.

"I do that from time to time." Dean nodded then went back to what he was doing, which is currently filling up a trash bag with all the shit that Bobby should have gotten rid of ages ago. Bugs are one thing, there are hammers for a reason, but decaying fast food, slime covered something-or-other and the piles of cloth that used to be clothes… Dean put them all in the trash and put it outside in the dumpster. "So I think I scared your roommate or something." He pointed out idly.

"Cas? Oh no… you didn't scare him. He just gets like that sometimes." Sam said quickly.

Huh… so Sam is hiding something. Fun. Wonder who's secret will come out first.


End file.
